Review of Family Values Aug Oct `98

Introduction

Lollapalooza was the Daddy of alternative festivals in the US for quite a few years. However, all good things must end and so, Lollapalooza faded away. A young pretender was waiting in the wings, though, and Korn created the Family Values tour in 1998, pulling together such alt-metal luminaries as Limp Bizkit, Orgy and the risible Rammstein. Ice Cube, tearing himself away from his film career, was also featured.

This DVD features the 5 performers from the 1998 tour giving their key performances and the odd interview.

Video

Video is presented in a standard 4:3 ratio and is OK. There is nothing to complain about and nothing to praise. It does the job.

Visually, the disk is pretty dull. 90 minutes of grungy artists on stage, thrashing about. It gets tired very quickly.

Audio

There is supposed to be a DD 5.1 soundtrack on this DVD (according to the cover) but I couldn`t find it. I tried the menus and cycling the audio on my Pioneer to no avail. If anyone can find it, let me know, but in the meantime, we`ll have to do with the PCM Stereo mix. And it sucks.

These are bands that are trying to make big, in-yer-face statement and they want (nay, demand) a big forceful sound. Sadly, they get the weediest sound I have ever heard on a DVD. It is limp, soggy, dull and utterly wretched. Guitars are mere chirps, drums are flaccid. The best I could say about the sound is that it is polite and, given the artists, this is the most damning criticism I could make.

Features

None at all.

Conclusion

Family Values? Well, only if you are the Manson family. Oh, so they are being ironic? OK. Much of this is pretty foul mouthed fare so keep your granny away. That said, it is largely surface show (even the lead singer of Rammstein with his fake phallus - how we sniggered) and about as dangerous as a bad case of halitosis - unpleasant but hardly life threatening. The only really dangerous moments come from Ice Cube and his always confrontational "F*** Tha Police". And Ice Cube is the real talent here - he`s the only one with anything to say.

The rest are just kids playing (in the case of Rammstein, with themselves). Limp BizKit give good value for money, especially with their sing-along covers of "Faith" (yes, by George Michael) and "Jump Around". However any energy in the performances is sapped by the atrocious sound. Orgy, who I had never encountered before, performs a fairly decent rendition of New Order`s "Blue Monday". Korn provide reliable, if unmemorable, performances of songs like "Got The Life" and "Faget". We even see Korn in some unguarded moments with their families and kids and it is rather sweet - as I say, nowhere near as dangerous as they would have us believe.

If you attended any of the concerts, this is a decent souvenir. However, it has little merit otherwise and the horrendous sound has to cast even that into question.